System for digital users to manage received analog information

ABSTRACT

A fax storage and retrieval system ( 3000 ) comprised of a fax receiving module ( 3380 ) configured to receive a plurality of facsimile documents from a plurality of fax devices ( 1100, 1200 ). A document attribute module ( 3320 ) is provided, configured to allow a user to associate each incoming fax document to a unique attribute set. A fax page splitter module ( 3384 ) is also provided, configured to split images of each of the facsimile documents to individual image pages. A document storage and retrieval system ( 3500 ) is coupled to the fax receiving module ( 3380 ) and configured to store each of the pages of the plurality of facsimile documents such that each of the pages is individually retrievable

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/351,568, filed on Dec. 24, 2001, entitled “ComputerizedProcesses and Apparatus for a Community if Digital Users Receiving anIntermittent Stream of Analog Information to Manage Their InformationEnvironment” and also to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/664,969, filed on Sep. 16, 2000, entitled, “System and Method forAutomatically Routing and Storing Coded Information and Displaying it onan Interaction Device,” the entirety of both applications beingincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a communication system and morespecifically, to a system that is employed to store and retrieve faxmessages intended for an organization, in a centralized arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most hospitals and insurance companies have an internal informationtechnology (“IT”) infrastructure that helps with communication ofinformation generated electronically within an organization. However,communication with other information providers who are apart from anorganization's IT infrastructure is conducted mainly through fax andmail, with fax forming the larger component Since this information ispaper-based, there are inherent privacy concerns and significant costsdue to delays and duplication of efforts.

Providers such as primary care physicians, outside a hospital/insurancecompany, send faxes containing patient health information prior to aprocedure, such as a surgery. This information, which is received aspaper (faxes), is then distributed to the various parties involved inthe procedure within the hospital, by the clerical/administrative staff.This process is tedious and prone to loss of information and significantduplication of efforts.

For example, medical clearance is required by the hospital prior toelective procedures (e.g., surgeries and cardiac catherizations) inorder to clear the patient for a procedure. Currently, the requiredfiles are often sent to multiple locations causing duplication of effortand often result in an incomplete medical clearance leading to expensivedelays and hospital facility cancellations. Outside labs and healthproviders are required to send a patient's most up to date informationto the hospital and to the operating physician before any scheduledprocedure. The transmission of such information leads to an exchange ofnumerous facsimile documents back and forth from the third party labsand health providers to the hospital and the operating physician.Organizing and clearing this information prior to surgery is a demandingtask for the hospital staff that are always under time pressure andoften overwhelmed.

Missing records and unavailable medical information, and incompletemedical clearances, lead to delays and cancellations causing significantmonetary and time losses for hospitals, interventional cardiologists,surgeons, anesthesiologists, primary care physicians, nurses and officestaff.

The costs associated with a failure in the system can be astronomical.For example in a hospital with 20 procedure rooms, each procedure roomtypically schedules five procedures a day. A 200-day work-year resultsin 20,000 procedures. This workload generates over 200,000 pieces ofpaper-based medical information. At any one time, the hospital clearancestaff is responsible for over 2,000 patient files. Furthermore, the costto such a hospital due to delays and cancellations could reach$20,000-$50,000 per day, which can significantly affect the hospital'sbottom line.

Thus, there is a need for a system that can prevent losses associatedwith transmission of facsimile documents intended to several members inan organization, such as in a hospital. There is also a need for asystem that is capable of storing and retrieving facsimile messages inan organized and centralized arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a web based fax management system thathelps providers with disparate electronic systems communicate with eachother using the low-cost and hard-to-replace fax technology and yetconsolidate paper based information in a uniform electronic form.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the system includesa facsimile storage and retrieval system that is configured to receivefaxes from a plurality of lines. When a facsimile is received,information regarding the transmission source (the facsimile number, thesender's name and the like) or Transmit Station Identification (TSI) isnormally transmitted as Transmitting Terminal Identification information(TTI) signals or as a part of the image data to the receiver side.According to the present invention, TTI can be captured for each of aplurality of lines and particular items of the line information can becaptured as desired. Thus, the same line information (TTI) can becaptured for all incoming facsimiles over all the lines. Thisinformation either alone or in combination with the receiving fax numbercan then be compared to the system database as a means for routing faxesto the intended recipient(s) in the database.

An Internet-based document management system and method is providedwherein access to the system and its services may be controlled throughuse of encrypted access tokens (i.e., user names and passwords). TheInternet-based document management system allows a fax or otherelectronic document to be stored in a compressed and encrypted format onan Internet-accessible server and accessed using a previously known webbrowser, downloaded in compressed [and encrypted] format allowing forsecure and speedy document response to the user for review andorganization, and then returned to the server for access by furtherusers.

Fax documents are stored as received for subsequent retrieval byauthorized users. Methods are provided wherein an authorized user systemcan associate attributes to individual pages of a fax or to a group ofpages from different faxes. Fax documents may also be split intoindividual pages prior to storage for speedy document response to theuser.

Portions of the information are protected through encryption and rulesconcerning access rights to the information are determined. Access tothe protected portions of the information is prevented, other than in anon-useable form; and users are provided access to the information onlyin accordance with the rules as enforced by a mechanism protected bycryptography.

A method is also provided for distributing information for subsequentcontrolled use of that information. The method includes protectingportions of the information; preventing access to the protected portionsof the information other than in a non-useable form; determining rulesconcerning access rights to the information; protecting the rules; andproviding a package including: the protected portions of the informationand the protected rules. A user is provided controlled access to thedistributed information only in accordance with the rules as enforced bya mechanism protected by cryptography. A device is provided forcontrolling access to information having encrypted information portionsand rules concerning access rights to the information. The deviceincludes means for storing the rules; and means for accessing theencrypted information portions only in accordance with the rules,whereby user access to the encrypted information portions is permittedonly if the rules indicate that the user is allowed to access theportions of the information.

The server is programmed to generate and validate access tokens andprovide a plurality of services supported by a common database anddocument store, including fax and email receiving services, storage andretrieval services, display and filtering services, cryptography andsecurity services, an electronic document delivery service, a documentdistribution service, a collaborative file sharing service, a workflowservice, a detailed system transaction accounting and recovery system,and a customization function that permits multiple information providersto utilize the common document management services of a server, whilepresenting end-users with distinct dedicated websites. The system allowspredestinated users at remotely located computer-based systems toperform document management over the Internet.

The system automatically routes the incoming fax information to it'scentral servers that process the information and make it available tothe provider it was intended for. Providers can access this informationover a web-based interface that allows them to view, sort, organize andprint this information. The system also provides extensive audit trailsto help providers achieve HIPAA compliance.

While the system is explained herein within the context of thehealthcare industry, its applications are widespread and not limited tothe healthcare industry. The system adds value wherever there are largevolumes of paper-based information received as faxes. For example,Insurance companies, law firms, and educational institutions to name afew.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a fax storage and retrievalsystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another block diagram illustrating a fax storage and retrievalsystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a fax receiving module inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a document presentation managerin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a document attribute manager inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a cryptography module inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an audit log module in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a customer information managermodule in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a fax routing module inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a user module in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a fax routing information table in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12(a) illustrates a document table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12(b) illustrates a document pages table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a customer table in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a user table in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 15(a) illustrates an audit action table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15(b) illustrates an audit log table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15(d) illustrates an audit details number table in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a unique attribute set table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a second unique attribute set table in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a process for receiving and storing faxes inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates a fax to e-mail table in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 illustrates the process for displaying and organizing documentsin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates a user interface for displaying a list of incomingfaxes in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 illustrates a user interface for viewing a fax in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 illustrates a user interface for setting a new unique attributeset in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 illustrates a user interface displaying a sound unique attributeset in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates a user interface for searching unique cases inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates a user interface for displaying a list of uniquecases in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 illustrates a user interface for displaying unique cases inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 illustrates a user interface for allowing a user to edit uniquecase attributes in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 29 illustrates a hospital procedural information flow in accordancewith the prior art; and

FIG. 30 illustrates a hospital procedural information flow employing afax storage and retrieval system in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates the salient features of thepresent invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment. FIG. 1shows Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 coupled to a plurality offax devices, such as fax device 1100 and fax device 1200 via a publicswitched telephone network 1000 as well as to a plurality of interactiveuser devices, such as computer terminals 2100 for user 1 (e.g. Nurse 1)and terminal 2200 for user 2 (e.g. Physician 1) via Internet 2000. FaxStorage and Retrieval System 3000 comprises Fax Receiving Module 3380,Web Server 3100, Fax Processing System 3300, Database 3400, and DocumentStorage and Retrieval System 3500.

It is noted that the present invention in accordance with one embodimentis described within a context of storing and retrieving medicalinformation transmitted via the Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000.However, the invention is not limited in that respect and many otherapplications and business environments can benefit from the fax storageand retrieval system as will become apparent in connection with thepresent description.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the system components of the presentinvention, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Fax Device 1100 is coupled to a fax receiving module 3380 viapublic-switched telephone network 1000 (hereinafter referred to as a“PSTN”). Information material, such as Paper-Based records [medicalreports], is advantageously transmitted via facsimile transmissiondevice 1100 or 1200 to Fax Receiving Module 3380. In an alternativeembodiment for commercial expedience, fax device 1100 is advantageouslycoupled to a fax to email system 1300 via PSTN. Information materials,such as paper-based records (example, medical reports) are transmittedvia facsimile transmission device 1100 or 1200 to fax to email system1300 through a mail server 3200 to fax receiving module 3380 as will beexplained below.

In yet another embodiment, faxes sent by Device 1100 or 1200 arereceived via PSTN 1000 by a fax gateway 1150 or 1250. Fax gateway 1150or 1250 is coupled to Mail Server 3200 via Internet 2000. Informationmaterials such as paper-based records (example, medical reports) aretransmitted via facsimile transmission device 1100 or 1200 to faxgateway 1150 or 1250 through mail server 3200 to fax receiving module3380.

Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000

Fax storage and retrieval system 3000 is preferably an electronic dataprocessing system, which controls various operations of the system aswill be described hereinafter. Fax storage and retrieval System 3000comprises CPUs, micro-controllers, microprocessor(s), embeddedcontrollers, and application specific integrated circuits. In addition,it advantageously employs program codes such as machine-readable objectcode. Such code is compiled from human readable source code createdusing programming languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic, Java, andother such languages well known in the art. It is noted that, whilecertain features of fax storage and retrieval system 3000 are describedas being independent (such as independent of the other modulescomprising Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 or independent ofdocument storage and retrieval system 3500 or database 3400, which isexplained further below), fax storage and retrieval system 3000 togetherwith document storage and retrieval system 3500 and/or database 3400 mayhave integrated functionality. Methods of incorporating storage andprogram code into fax storage and retrieval system 3000 are well knownin the art and are not further described here.

In the embodiment shown, Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 comprisesWeb Server 3100, Mail Server 3200 and Fax Processing System 3300 (FaxReceiving Module 3380 and Processor(s) 3305). Web Server 3100 isconfigured to maintain an addressable web site. Fax Storage andRetrieval System 3000 also comprises Database 3400 and Document Storageand Retrieval System 3500.

Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 is coupled to Document Storage andRetrieval System 3500, which is configured to store fax image data.Document Storage and Retrieval System 3500 is a machine-readable media.Such media, as is well known in the art, include: electronic, magnetic,and/or optical media such as a hard disk, optical disk, tape, randomaccess memory, read only memory, and/or any combination thereof. Whilethe following description refers to a storage device in the form of acentralized system, it is well known to those skilled in the art that astorage device can be a distributed system as well.

Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 is coupled to Database 3400, whichis configured to provide storage for data. Database 3400 typicallycomprises machine-readable media Such media, as is well known in theart, include: electronic, magnetic, and/or optical media such as a harddisk, optical disk, floppy disk, tape, random access memory, read onlymemory, and/or any combination thereof. While the following descriptionrefers to a storage device in the form of a centralized system, it iswell known to those skilled in the art that a storage device can be adistributed system as well.

Processor(s) 3305 are comprised of Document Presentation Manager 3310,Document Attribute Manager 3320, Cryptography Module 3330, Audit LogModule 3340, User Module 3350, Customer Information Manager 3360, andFax Routing Module 3370. Processor(s) 3305 perform various operations(although it is noted that these modules need not be discrete componentsbut may instead be any combination of components, or software, whichprovide the desired functionality described below).

Document Presentation Manager 3310 is configured to display stored faxesto authorized users. It provides methods for users to sort and filterfax documents on the basis of associated attributes such as receiveddate/time, destination fax number, source fax number/TSI (fax senderinformation), etc. Methods are also provided to track faxes as received(i.e. prior to organization by other users). Document PresentationManager 3310 interacts with Document Data Module 3460 and DocumentStorage and Retrieval System 3500 for the purpose of retrieving anddisplaying faxes and/or other documents.

Document Attribute Manager 3320 is configured to associate a unique setof attributes to a fax or fax page as is explained in more detail later.Each unique set of attributes may include information such asinformation necessary to identify a patient case (patient name, date ofbirth, social security number, etc). It may also include other casespecific information such as an attending physician (physician name,specialty, etc.), date of procedure, etc. It may be noted that while theabove attributes are specific to a healthcare pre-operative scenario,

Module 3320 is capable of managing attributes specific to otherindustries as well, as may be applicable. Document Attribute Manager3320 interacts with Unique Attribute Data Module 3410, which isconfigured to store tables that reflect the association made by module3320.

Cryptography Module 3330 encrypts information materials and/or userauthentication data into encrypted information materials, thus insuringthat unauthorized persons cannot access the materials. In one embodimentof the invention, the system is configured such that Cryptography Module3330 encrypts attributes and/or user authentication data, such aspassword and the like. In this embodiment, it is the authentication data(which is employed to provide access to users of the system in order todisplay the information materials as explained further below), whichremains secure to unauthorized users. Cryptography Module 3330 alsodecrypts user authentication data and/or stored information materialsfor display on the designated web page in response to a user inquiry.

Audit Log Module 3340 is activated when a user accesses any informationstored on the system. A record of each access, such as the date and timeof the access and the identity of the person that accessed the record,and the information accessed is recorded in Audit Log Data Module 3440of Database 3400. Audit Log Module 3340, enables the system operator tomonitor and police the users that are accessing the system.

User Module 3350 verifies a user when a user name and password areentered into the system. New Users can also be added to the systemthrough Module 3350. Module 3350 has methods to disable user accounts,edit user information and allow a Customer Administrator to resetpasswords of other users if necessary. User Module 3350 stores userinformation in User Data Module 3450 of Database 3400.

Customer Information Manager 3360 allows a System Administrator to addnew Customers to the system. It is noted that within the context of thepresent description, a customer is referred to an organization, such asa hospital that intends to employ the fax storage and retrieval systemof the present invention. A system administrator is referred to theentity that is in charge of handling the fax storage and retrievalsystem of the present invention for many organizations or customers.

A System Administrator can change customer specific settings such as thesession timeout (the period of inactivity after which an idle user willbe automatically logged out by the system), customer name, GMT offsetand other such attributes that may be necessary. As mentioned above,within the context of a hospital, a customer is a new medicalinstitution or a new hospital, as will be discussed later. Customerinformation manager 3360 stores customer information in customerinformation data module 3470 of database 3400.

It is noted that the System Administrator is responsible foradministrating the entire Fax Storage and Retrieval System 3000 and acustomer administrator administrates that portion specific to acustomer.

Fax numbers are obtained in advance and stored in fax routing datamodule 3480. When a new customer is added to the system, fax routingmodule 3370 provides options to a system administrator to associateavailable fax numbers to the new customer. Furthermore, fax routingmodule 3370 allows a customer administrator to associate these faxnumbers to one or more physicians or departments as applicable. Thisinformation is used by fax receiving module 3380 to route incoming faxesto the appropriate location in the database.

Fax Receiving Module 3380 is configured to receive a facsimile of adocument transmitted by Fax Device 1100 or 1200 through PSTN 1000, toFax-to-Email System 1300 through Mail Server 3200.

In this embodiment Fax-To-Email system 1300 receives faxes from PSTN1000 and creates an email message and converts the contents of the faxto a TIFF file, which is then attached to the email message.Fax-to-email system 1300 also contains a table that associates faxnumbers to unique email addresses, which is the same fax number to emailaddress mapping that has been set in a FaxRoutingInfo table 3482, asexplained in more detail with reference to 11. The unique email addressis then employed to send this email message to mail server 3200. Mailserver 3200 is configured to receive and store the email messages andmakes them available to fax receiving module 3380. It is noted that thearrangement of system 1300 and 3200 is only one example of theembodiment and the invention is not limited in scope in that respect.For example, faxes sent via PSTN 1000 can be directly transmitted to FaxReceiving Module 3380 via known communication protocols such as TCP/IP.However, the arrangement of system 1300 and server 3200 allows for acommercially convenient arrangement where the telecom infrastructurerequired for receiving the faxes can be outsourced to a third partyprovider.

In another arrangement, faxes sent by devices 1100 or 1200 are receivedby fax gateway 1150 or 1250. The fax gateway then performs the task thathas been outlined above with regards to fax-to-email system 1300 andthen transmits the email messages via Internet 2000 to mail server 3200.In this arrangement, fax gateway 1150 or 1250 is located at thecustomer's premises. Such an arrangement can provide the benefit ofreduced overall usage cost of the system to a customer.

Fax Receiving Module 3380

As illustrated in FIG. 3, fax receiving module 3380 comprises varioussub systems including email reader 3381 that reads new emails from mailserver 3200; email information extractor 3382 that extracts informationsuch as the received date and time, subject of the email, the ‘Toaddress’ and the email attachment; categorization module 3383 that usesfax-routing-info table 3482 (FIG. 11) to find out customer informationID, member ID and department ID as may be applicable, based on the ‘Toaddress’ of the received email message; page splitter module 3384 thatsplits multi-page fax images into single page fax images; compressionmodule 3385 that compresses the fax image information to a smaller sizeto reduce storage requirements and the download time of the documentfrom the web to the user's browser (the present architecture of theinvention uses a CPC compression module from Cartesian Products, Inc.but can alternatively use other compression techniques); and storagemodule 3386 that populates the information generated by modules 3382 and3383 into document data module 3460 (FIG. 2), which in turn generates aunique database ID for each page. The unique database ID is encryptedusing cryptography module 3330 (FIG. 2). Storage module 3386 provideseach compressed fax page image for storage in document storage andretrieval system 3500, based on this encrypted unique ID.

As such each received fax page in a received fax document is storedindividually as a separate file into document storage and retrievalsystem 3500. It is noted that the arrangement of storing each fax pageseparately is only one example of the embodiment, and the invention isnot limited in scope in that respect. For example, in an alternativearrangement, the fax documents can be stored as received and presentedon a page-by-page basis to the user upon request. Also, the associationof attributes to each individual fax page is independent of the mannerin which the fax itself is stored, as will be apparent from thediscussion below.

FIG. 4 illustrates a document presentation manager 3310 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The document presentationmanager comprises document retrieval module 3311; document sorting andfilter module 3312; document display module 3313; and document trackingmodule 3314. Document retrieval module 3311 retrieves fax informationfrom document data module 3460 (FIG. 2) and displays the information ina tabular format. Document sorting and filter module 3312 allows thesystem to sort or filter the retrieved information on the basis ofassociated attributes such as received date/time, destination faxnumber, source fax number/TSI (fax sender information), etc.

Document display module 3313 retrieves the fax page images in responseto a user action to display the fax document for the purpose of viewingor printing the images. In the current embodiment, fax images aredisplayed into a CPC viewer (from Cartesian Products, Inc.) but theinvention is not limited in that respect.

Document tracking module 3314 allows the user to trace the contents of afax and view the fax as it was originally received (i.e., prior to itscontents being organized under Unique Cases). Document tracking module3314 fetches the information from document data module 3460 and uniquecase attribute data module 3410 to display it in a tabular format.

FIG. 5 illustrates document attribute manager 3320 in more detail. Thedocument attribute manager comprises a unique attribute display module3321; attribute editor 3322; document attribute association module 3323;and unique attribute search module 3324. Document attribute manager 3320fetches unique cases (set of unique attributes) from unique attributedata module 3410 and displays them in a tabular format. Attribute editormodule 3322 is responsible for adding and editing existing attributevalues that define a unique case. Unique attribute search module 3324provides methods to search for documents based on the attribute valuesthat define unique cases. Document Attribute Association Module 3323associates Unique Cases with Document Fax Pages and adds/updateslinkages in Document Data Module 3460 for the Unique Case.

FIG. 6 illustrates cryptography module 3330 in more detail. Inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention, cryptography module3330 comprises a document cryptography module 3331; user authenticationcryptography module 3332, and data cryptography module 3333. Documentcryptography module 3331 encrypts and decrypts fax images prior tostorage and retrieval respectively. User Authentication CryptographyModule 3332 is responsible for password encryption and decryption duringuser account setup and user login. Data Cryptography Module 3333 isresponsible for fax image linkage encryption and encryption/decryptionof all other attribute information that need to be secured. All thesemodules use industry standard cryptography algorithms such as Blowfishand MD5 but are not limited to using these specific algorithms.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an audit log module 3340. Theaudit log module is comprised of audit recording module 3342 and auditdisplay module 3344. Audit Recording Module 3342 gets activated when auser adds, reads or changes any information stored on the system. Arecord of each action comprising information such as the date and timewhen the action was performed, the identity of the person performing theaction, the state of the information before and after the action isrecorded in Audit Log Data Module 3440. Audit Display Module 3344,provides methods for a Customer Administrator to view this informationand thereby use it to monitor and police users accessing the system. TheAudit Display Module also allows System and Customer Administrators togenerate reports on system usage.

User Module 3350 illustrated in FIG. 10 comprises of AdministrationModule 3352 and Login Module 3354. Customer Administrators use Module3352 to add new users to the system. Module 3352 stores new user accountinformation into User Data Module 3450. Module 3352 also providesCustomer Administrators methods to perform administrative tasks such asdisabling an existing user account, reset passwords, etc. Module 3352also provides users a method to change their password information. LoginModule 3354 provides users of the system a method to login into thesystem.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a customer information manager3360 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Customerinformation manager 3360 comprises a customer account creation module3362 and customer account administration module 3364. Module 3362provides System Administrators a method to create a new Customer. Module3362 also creates a Customer Administrator account automatically when anew Customer is added to the system. Information pertaining to the newCustomer gets recorded into the Customer Information Data Module 3470and information pertaining to the Customer Administrator is recordedinto User Data Module 3440. The Customer Administrator may subsequentlychange the default system settings such as Session Timeout, OrganizationName, Technical Contact, etc.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a fax routing module 3370 in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention. Fax routing module 3370 comprisesof fax number procurement module 3372 and Fax Number Association Module3374. Module 3372 provides System Administrators a method to procure aplurality of fax numbers from PSTN and store them into Fax Routing DataModule 3480. The Fax Number Association Module 3374 provides SystemAdministrators a method to associate these fax numbers to new orexisting customer accounts. Module 3374 also provides CustomerAdministrators a method to further associate these fax numbers toindividuals or departments within the customer organization such as aPhysician or an Operating Room.

Database 3400

While the following description refers to specific individual databases,formats, records, fields, and indexing schemes, those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate that such specifics are not critical to thepresent invention. Other databases, formats, records, fields, andindexing schemes may also be created and utilized by the service asdesired.

In the embodiment shown, Database 3400 comprises the Unique AttributeData Module 3410 which in turn comprises Unique Attribute Set 1 [PatientFile] 3420, Unique Attribute Set 2 [Physician] 3430 and so on.Additional modules include Audit Log Data Module 3440, User Data Module3450, Document Data Module 3460, Customer Information Data Module 3470and Fax Routing Data Module 3480.

Document Data Module 3460 stores information related to fax documentssuch as date and time of receipt, sending fax number, destination faxnumber, number of pages, etc. Data Module 3460 also stores encryptedlinks to the actual fax documents [medical records and like] stored inDocument Storage and Retrieval System 3500.

Unique Attribute Data Module 3410 includes data representing uniquecases, two of which follow below for the preferred embodiment:

Unique Attribute Set 1 3420 [a Patient File] stores Case [patient file]information and linkage with associated fax document informationcorresponding to each Case [patient file].

Unique Attribute Set 2 [a Physician] 3430 stores attributes thatuniquely identify a physician (such as UPIN, Social Security Number, DEAnumber, etc.) and description of each Unique Attribute [physician name].

Audit Log Data Module 3440 stores audit trail information, which isgenerated to record the user actions. Actions recorded includelogin/logout operations by users, password change, changes made byCustomer Administrators to User Account information such as first name,last name, login ID, disabling/enabling user accounts, etc. Alsorecorded are documents viewed by a user, changes to Unique Attributes,document-attribute associations created and modified. Module 3440 alsorecords the date and time when each action was performed.

User Data Module 3450 stores login ID and password informationcorresponding to each user identification number. User Data Module 3450also stores account information and preferences of users that includebut are not limited to attributes such as User First Name, Last Name,Notification (if user should be notified when new faxes are received),User Account enabled/disabled, etc.

Customer Information Data Module 3470 stores Customer information, whichare accessed and updated by Customer Information Manager 3360. Customerinformation includes attributes such as Customer name, a Customer code,Session Timeout period, Technical Contact information, etc. The CustomerCode is a unique text attribute provided by a user along with login IDand password that is used to identify the customer the user belongs to.Session Timeout is the period of inactivity after which an idle userwill be automatically logged out by the system

Fax Routing Module 3370 interacts with Fax Routing Data module 3480 toadd new records and edit existing records. Fax Routing Data Module 3480includes FaxRoutingInfo table 3482 as illustrated in FIG. 11, whichcontains all the necessary fields to store fax routing information. Thusfor example, table 3482 includes, FaxRoutingInfoID field, which uniquelyidentifies each row in the table. Table 3482 also includes a FaxNumberfield that stores a plurality of Fax Numbers that were procured fromPSTN and may later be associated with a customer; Table 3482 alsoincludes an EmailAddress field that is populated by the SystemAdministrator with a unique Email Address at which the fax image in theform of an email attachment will be received. Table 3482 also includes aCustomerID field that uniquely identifies a Customer in the CustomerInformation Data module 3470. Table 3482 also includes a DepartmentIdfield, which is populated when the fax number is assigned to aparticular department within a Customer organization. Table 3482 alsoincludes a Description field, which can contain a text description aboutthe fax number such as identification information relating to that faxnumber. Table 3482 also contains a MemberId field, which is populatedwhen a fax number is assigned to an individual within a Customerorganization.

Document Data Module 3460 includes Document table 3462 and DocumentPagestable 3464. As shown in FIGS. 12-A and 12-B, the Document table and theDocumentPages table contain all necessary fields to store informationrelated to fax document.

Document table 3462 includes DocumentId field, which uniquely identifiesa fax document. Table 3462 also includes CustomerId, which identifiesthe Customer for whom a document was received. FaxRoutingInfoId uniquelyidentifies each row in the FaxRoutingInfo table and is used to restrictthe access of the document to the department or member identified by arow. ReceivedDateTime is the date and time when the fax document wasreceived. NoOfPages column stores the number of pages a fax documentcontains. The ReceivedFrom column stores information identifying thesender of the fax document. All columns in table 3462 are populated byFax Receiving Module 3380.

DocumentPages table 3464 is used to store document page information inconnection to the Document table 3462. DocumentId column relates thedocument information contained in Table 3462 with the document pageinformation stored in DocumentPages table 3464. DocumentPages table 3464also includes DocumentPageId, which uniquely identifies each row in thetable. DocumentPageId is encrypted and used for storing document pageimages into Document Storage and Retrieval System 3500. DocumentPageIdcolumn stores the page number of a page in the corresponding faxdocument. These columns are populated by Fax Receiving Module 3380 whena fax document is received. DocumentPages table 3464 also containsUniqueCaseId column, which is populated by Document Attribute Manager3320 when a page is associated with a Unique Case. UniqueCasePageNostores the page number of a page in the corresponding Unique Case (aUnique Case may contain fax pages from different fax documents).

Customer Information Data Module 3470 includes Customer table 3472,which stores information about customers of the system. Customer table3472 includes CustomerId, which uniquely identifies each customer and isused in other tables when a reference for a customer is required.CustomerName column stores the name of the customer organization.Customer table 3472 also includes CustomerCode column, which stores atext ID that is used to uniquely identify a customer. The Customer Codegives the system the flexibility of having duplicate login Ids, as theremay be users across different customer organizations that have similarnames. Customer table 3472 also includes SessionTimeout column, whichstores a numeric value that represents the time in minutes after whichthe system will log out an idle user. Customer table 3472 also storesinformation related to a technical contact person such as the name,email address and phone of the contact in the ContactName, ContactEmailand ContactPhone columns. User Data Module 3450 includes User table3452, which stores authentication and personal information for systemuser. User table 3452 includes column UserId, which is uniquelyidentifies each user in the system and is used in other tables wherereference for a user account is required. User table 3452 also includesLoginId column, which stores login ID for the user. Table 3452 alsoincludes Password column that stores the user password in an encryptedmanner. User table 3452 also includes a UserType column, whichidentifies the account type of each user (i.e. Administrative or aregular System user). User table table 3452 also includes Firstname andLastname columns to store a user's first and last names. User table 3452also includes CustomerId column, which stores unique Customer identifierfrom table Customer table 3472. User table 3452 also includesCustomerCode column, which stores information from the CustomerCodecolumn in the Customer table 3472. Table 3452 also includes a Disablefield, which used when Customer Administrators need to enable/disableuser accounts.

Audit Log Data Module 3440 includes table AuditAction 3442, tableAuditLog 3444 and tables AuditDetailsChar 3446 and AuditDetailsNum 3448.AuditAction table 3442 defines a list of actions such as explainedpreviously, which will be audited in the system. AuditAction tableincludes ActionId, which uniquely identifies each action. AuditActionIdis used when a reference to an action represented by a row inAuditAction table 3442 is required. AuditAction table 3442 also includesa Description field, which contains a text description of the action.The Description field may also be used to describe an action in auditreports. Table 3442 also includes a DataType field that is used by theAudit Recording Module 3342 to indicate the type of data that is beingaudited. A value of 1 for the field DataType in any row indicates thatthe action is being performed on numerical type data. A value of 2 forthe field DataType in any row indicates that the action is beingperformed on text type of data. A NULL value for the field DataType inany row indicates that the action is of read-only nature and is notmodifing any data.

AuditLog table 3444 includes field AuditLog d that uniquely identifieseach audit log item Field AuditLogId is used when a reference to a rowin table 3444 is required. AuditLog table 3444 also includes fieldUserId, which represents a row from User table 3452. UserId columnstores the UserId of the user performing the action being audited.AuditActionId is identifies a row in the AuditAction table 3442.AuditActionId column value represents the type of action that is underaudit. AuditLog table 3444 also includes ObjectId column, which cancontain the unique identifiers from various tables depending upon thedata being modified. Example of such identifiers are DocumentID,DocumentPageId, UniqueCaseId or a UserId.

AuditDetailsChar table 3446 and AuditDetailsNum table 3448 store detailsof the data changed during an action performed by a user, represented bya corresponding row in the AuditLog table 3444. Both tables 3446 and3448 are similar in structure expect in that table 3446 stores changesto text type of data and table 3448 stores changes to numeric type ofdata. Such an arrangement helps improve the performance of querying andother action related to the operation of Database 3400. Tables 3446 and3448 include an AuditLogId field, which uniquely identifies a row in theAuditLog table 3444. Tables 3446 and 3448 also include a State columnthat indicates if a row contains information of data prior tomodification or post modification. As seen in the FIGS. 15-C and 15-D, avalue of ‘B’ (Before) in the State column indicates that the datacontained in that column represents data prior to modification by theaction under audit and a value of ‘A’ (After) indicates postmodification data. Tables 3446 and 3448 also include a Data field, whichstores the actual data undergoing changes, both prior to modificationand post modification.

Tables UniqueAttrSet1 3420 and UniqueAttrSet2 3430 are examples of thetables that make up Unique Attribute Data Module 3410. Each represents aparticular type of information such as patient cases, physicians, etc.that may be used separately or in combination with each other torepresent the attributes associated to a set of fax pages. DocumentAttribute Manager 3320 populates tables 3420, 3430 and any other tablein Data Module 3410.

UniqueAttrSet1 table 3420 represents a unique set of attributes thatidentify a patient case. Table 3420 comprises of field UniqueCaseId thatuniquely identifies each patient case. Table 3420 also has fields Firstname, Last name, SSN (Social Security Number) and Date of Birth ofpatient whose case file is represented by a row of information. FieldProcedureDate is the date on which the medical procedure will beperformed. Field PhysicianId is numeric reference that uniquelyidentifies a Physician from the Physicians table 3430. Keywords is afree text field, which is populated with any text information such asnotes that need to be associated with a patient file.

UniqueAttrSet2 table 3430 represents a unique set of attributes thatidentify a physician. Table 3430 comprises of field PhysicianId thatuniquely identifies each physician. Table 3430 also has fields Firstname, Last name and UPIN that store additional information pertaining toa physician.

Process Description

As illustrated in FIG. 18, the process starts when a provider of medicalinformation wishes to send paper-based information (medial records) tothe recipient (Customer).

At Step 100, using Fax Device (1100 or 1200), sender dials a fax numberassociated with the Customer and initiates transmission of data. Thisfax data is routed to the desired destination fax number through PSTN2000.

At Step 105, the facsimile is received by Fax-To-Email system 1300. AtStep 110, Fax-To-Email system 1300 reads facsimile information andconverts the fax to an image file (TIFF document). At Step 115,Fax-To-Email system 1300 creates an email message with the TIFF image asan attachment. At Step 120, Fax-To-Email system 1300 retrievesinformation regarding the transmission source from the TTI signals andincludes them in the email message. Such information could be thesending facsimile number, the sender's name and the like. System 1300also includes in the email message, other information such as number ofpages contained in the fax and the date and time of receipt of fax.Fax-To-Email system 1300 comprises a FaxToEmail table 1302 (FIG. 19)that contains a subset of the information contained by FaxRoutingInfotable 3482. This information is set by the System Administrator.

At Step 125, Fax-To-Email system 1300 uses the fax number the fax wasreceived on to retrieve the associated email address from FaxToEmailtable 1302 and sets it as the destination email address of the emailmessage. At Step 130, Fax-To-Email system 1300 sends the email messagevia Internet 2000.

At Step 135, Mail Server 3200 receives email message sent byFax-To-Email system 1300. At Step 140, Email Reader 3381 of FaxReceiving Module 3380 retrieves email message from Mail Server 3200. AtStep 145, Email Information Extractor 3382 extracts from the emailmessage, the TIFF image (fax document), and other information such asthe destination email address, the receiving fax number, receipt dateand time of fax, etc. At Step 150, Categorization Module 3383 maps theemail address of the email message to the appropriate row inFaxRoutingInfo table 3482 and identifies the Customer, and if applicablethe Department or Individual within the Customer organization. Module3383 may also use the sender's fax number to assign furthercategorization parameters to the incoming fax. At Step 155, Module 3383generates a serial number (used to visually differentiate each fax inthe user interface) based on date and time of receipt.

At Step 160, Storage Module 3386 of Fax Receiving Module 3380 recordsall the categorization parameters generated by Module 3383 such as theCustomer, and if applicable the Department or Individual the fax wasreceived for, other information such as retrieved by Module 3382 andlike into tables Document 3462 and DocumentPages 3464 of Document DataModule 3460.

At Step 165, Page Splitter Module 3384 of Fax Receiving Module 3380splits the fax document contained in the TIFF image file extracted byModule 3382, into single page TIFF images. At Step 170, CompressionModule 3385 of Fax Receiving Module 3380 compresses each individual faxpage (TIFF image file). At Step 175, Module 3383 generates a uniquesequence number for the individual fax pages, which is used to uniquelyidentify each fax page in the system.

At Step 180, Document Cryptography Module 3331 of Cryptography Module3330 encrypts each image file (fax page). At Step 185, Data CryptographyModule 3333 encrypts the unique sequence numbers generated by Module3383 at Step 175.

At Step 190, Storage Module 3386 of Module 3380 generates filenames foreach TIFF image file (fax page) utilizing the encrypted unique sequencenumbers. At Step 195, Storage Module 3386 stores the TIFF image files(fax pages) into Document Storage and Retrieval System 3500.

The process starts when a System User wishes to login to the system andview/organize information.

User Authentication

At Step 500 illustrated in FIG. 20, user connects to the system viaInternet 2000 using a previously known web browser. At Step 505, userenters his/her authentication information namely, LoginId, Password andCustomer Code. At Step 510, User Authentication Cryptography Module 3332of Cryptography Module 3330 encrypts user entered authenticationinformation. At Step 515, Login Module 3354 of User Module 3350 comparesencrypted authentication information generated by Module 3332 againstUser table 3452 of User Data Module 3450. Upon successful match, at Step520, Module 3354 looks up UserType field in User table 3452 of DataModule 3450. If user is of type ‘Administrator’ then he is taken to theadministrative interface. If user is of type ‘system user’ (regularuser) he is taken to a common interface where he/she can view andorganize fax documents.

After login to the system, the user can view all new faxes for whichhe/she has permission to access. The, permission to view a fax isassigned by the Customer Administrator. The Customer Administrator canassociate a fax number or a department to which the user will havepermission to access.

View Incoming (Un-Reviewed) Faxes

With further reference to FIG. 21, at Step 700, Document RetrievalModule 3313 of Document Presentation Manager 3310 retrieves a list ofun-reviewed faxes from Document table 3462 of Document Data Module 3460and displays it to the user. At this point the user may choose to sortor filter the list based on the various attributes associated with thefaxes. For example if the user chooses to sort all faxes by datereceived, user clicks on the column heading and Document Sorting andFilter Module 3312 of Module 3310 sorts the list based on receipt dateand time and Module 3313 displays the sorted list to the user.

View a Fax Document

With further reference to FIG. 22, at Step 705, in response to useraction (user clicks on the review link of any fax document), DocumentDisplay Module 3313 looks up the DocumentPages table 3464, retrieves theunique sequence numbers for the pages contained in the selected faxdocument and retrieves the corresponding images files from DocumentStorage and Retrieval System 3500. At Step 710, Module 3313 displays theretrieved image files to the user in a specialized image viewer (CPCviewer).

User is presented with the choice of organizing the contents of the faxdocument into patient files (Unique Cases) or deleting unwanted faxpages. User is also presented with the choice of performingeither-action (organize or delete) on all pages of the fax or selectedpages of the fax.

Delete Fax Pages

If user clicks on the Delete button, at Step 715, Module 3313 updatesthe state field against the selected fax pages in the DocumentPagestable 3464 to 2, which indicates that these pages have been deleted.

Associate Fax Pages with Unique Cases (Patient Files)

If user enters a patient last name and clicks on the File button, atStep 720, Unique Attribute Search Module 3324 of Document AttributeManager 3320, looks up UniqueAttrSet1 (Patient File) table 3420 ofUnique Attribute Data Module 3410 for Patient Files with matching valuesfor the field Lastname. If no matching Patient File is found, at Step725, user is presented with a screen (FIG. 23) to create a new patientfile.

User enters relevant data and clicks on the Create button. At Step 730,Attribute Editor 3322 of Document Attribute Manager 3320 adds theattributes entered by User to UniqueAttrSet1 (Patient File) table 3420to create a new unique attribute set (patient file). Once the newpatient file has been created, the user is taken back to Step 720 andproceeds as explained below.

If at Step 720, a matching Unique Attribute Set (Patient File) is foundand confirmed by user (FIG. 24) as the correct Attribute Set, theselected fax pages are associated with the Attribute Set that was foundby Document Attribute Association Module 3323 of Document AttributeManager 3320 at Step 735.

This association is done by populating the UniqueCaseId field inDocumentPages table 3464 with the value of the UniqueCaseId field thatuniquely identifies the Attribute Set found at Step 720.

Search Unique Cases (Patient Files)

Users can search for unique cases (Patient Files) based on associatedattributes as illustrated in FIG. 25. Searches can be performed on thevarious attributes that constitute a patient file. At Step 900, userenters search criteria for a patient file.

Unique Attribute Search Module 3324 of Document Attribute Manager 3320queries the Unique Case Data Module 3410 for rows that match the searchcriteria entered by user. At Step 905, Unique Attribute Display Module3321 of Document Attribute Manager 3320 displays the results of thesearch in a tabular format as illustrated in FIG. 26. Module 3321 alsoprovides methods for the user to sort the results of the search.

Edit Unique Case Attributes

User can click on the Edit File Info button to edit the attributesassociated with the Unique Case (FIG. 27). When user clicks on the editbutton (FIG. 28) and modifies associated attributes, at Step 915,Attribute Editor 3322 of Document Attribute Manager 3320 updates thecorresponding fields in Unique Attribute Data Module 3410.

Remove Fax Pages

User can click on the Remove Pages button to disassociate fax pages froma Unique Case. When user clicks on the Remove Pages button (FIG. 27), atStep 920, Document-Attribute Association Module 3323 of DocumentAttribute Manager 3320 removes the association between the selected faxpages and the Unique Case. This is achieved by setting the value of thefield UniqueCaseId in Document Pages table 3464 of Document Data Module3460 to NULL.

Delete Unique Case

User may also delete a unique case by clicking on the Delete File button(FIG. 27). When user clicks on the Delete File button, at Step 925,Attribute Editor 3322 of Document Attribute Manager 3320 sets the valuefor Deleted field in the UniqueAttrSet1 table 3420 of Unique Case DataModule 3410 to 1. Module 3322 also sets the Deleted field to 1 for therows representing the fax pages in the Patient File in the DocumentPagestable 3464 of Document Data Module 3460. The benefit of using a Deletedfield as compared to actually deleting the rows and associatedinformation is that it allows the system to provide methods to the userto undelete any information that may have been accidentally orunintentionally deleted.

FIGS. 29 and 30 illustrate an example of the information flow with andwithout the teachings of the present invention. Hospitals typicallytransfer information through an information flow process as describedhereinafter.

Typically, universe 11000 defines sources of information that providemedical and medical related information regarding patients to a hospitalwhere a patient is scheduled for surgery. This universe containsphysician-generated patient information required by the hospital forsurgery.

For example, external office 11020 corresponds to a primary carephysician that refers patients to the surgeons who are affiliated withthe hospital. The primary care physicians themselves may or may not havean affiliation with the hospital (generally they probably will not).These physicians generally fax information to surgeons' offices,consisting of their notes and information related to the individualpatient.

Clinical information (I) 11030 is generated by the referring physician.This information includes clinical information such as diagnosis, notesof the examination of the patient, etc.) that are then conveyed to theSurgeon 11040, generally via fax. The clinical information at each stagedevelops and changes as more information is accrued for the patientchart.

The Surgeon generates clinical information 11032 for each procedure,including the Surgeon's attending note, which details the nature andexecution of the surgical procedure to be performed.

Also, within the hospital 111000 pre-admission testing generatesadditional clinical information for each procedure, including thehistory and physical, blood work, lab tests, and pre-anesthesiaevaluation.

Pre-Admission Testing sends this generated information, in the form ofclinical information 11032 to the surgeon's office 11040 for review, aswell as placing it in the patient's chart before transferring clinicalinformation 11036 to the Operating Room 11400.

The patient's, chart, and related clinical information 11036 at the timethat it is conveyed to the Operating Room, is as complete as possible,containing all relevant patient information generated by referringphysician 11020, surgeons' offices 11040, and pre-admission testing(11140) or outside equivalent.

Within the hospital environment pre-certification clearance office11300, verifies insurance coverage prior to each procedure and requiresclinical information for each patient. However, this information ishighly specialized and narrow, and only includes such information asdiagnosis, procedure codes, and other factors that specifically arerelevant for insurance purposes. This limited clinical information mayalso be utilized by patient financial services office 11620 anddischarge planning office 11600.

After the completion of the surgery, the patient's chart andcorresponding clinical information 11039 includes all pre-proceduralinformation, and also includes outcome results and the surgeon's accountof the surgery (generally dictated and transcribed for the patient'schart). This information is exhaustive, and includes information that isimportant for clinical research, utilization review, discharge planning,and patient financial services. This information is then sent toutilization review office 11520, discharge planning office 11600 andpatient financial services office 11620.

It is noted that surgeons 11040 are either affiliated with the hospitalor have privileges to perform procedures in the hospital. They receiveinformation from referring physicians and transfer information to thehospital. Typical information transferred from the Surgeons' office tothe hospital prior to surgery include: surgical consent (consent to havesurgery and that everything has been explained, signed by both patientand surgeon), physician's orders (what tests the surgeon would likeconducted on the patient prior to surgery), patient questionnaire(administrative document with personal and demographic information aswell as clinical information) and attending note (the physician'sdescription of the procedure). Also, some surgeons conduct their ownhistory and physical to determine the condition of the patient, and sendthis information to the hospital as well.

Surgeon's offices schedule patients according to a number of factors,including the needs of the patient, the time requirements of theprocedure, the surgeon's availability, and operating room availability.The surgeons convey this information to the hospital in the form ofbooking information 11050.

Within the hospital environment operating room schedule unit receivesclinical information 11032 and booking information 11050 and generatesbooking information 11052. This booking information is then sent topre-certification clearance unit 11300 and is utilized by thepre-certification clearance unit. The booking information is also sentto patient financial services unit 11620 to order the operation. Forexample, pre-certification clearance unit pre-certifies procedures 2days before the procedure is performed, so booking information isnecessary for the department to know which patients to work on in anygiven day.

Within the hospital environment scheduling department receives bookinginformation from the surgeons' offices via telephone or fax. Thescheduling department then transfers that information into a schedulingprogram that schedules procedures in the operating room.

Pre-admission testing unit 11140 conducts tests and evaluations ofpatients before surgery to ensure that the patient is fit to undergosurgery. The primary elements of pre-admission testing are staffclinical professionals. Typically, patients are seen by physicianspracticing Internal Medicine or a nurse-practitioner for a history andphysical. The patient also has blood work and EKG's or other tests, andan anesthesiologist evaluates the patient's fitness for differentmethods of anesthesia, depending upon the procedure.

Original documentation is produced by each of these procedures, suchthat pre-admission testing unit 11140 generates a history and physical,pre-anesthesia evaluation, and lab results for each patient.

Clerks in the pre-admission testing unit receive the informationgenerated by the unit, and assign it to the patient file. They are alsorequired to send the generated information to the surgeon's officeassociated with each patient. These Clerks prepare the patient chart fortransfer to the OR. They ensure completeness, accuracy, and inclusion ofall necessary information for the surgery to proceed (consent, orders,history and physical, clinical data/lab results, patient questionnaire).

In some instances, the pre-admission testing unit is conducted at a siteoutside of the hospital, in which case the information would be treatedthe same by the outside site.

Within pre-certification unit 11300, insurance verifiers ensure thateach patient, prior to surgery, has been approved by their respectiveinsurance companies to receive the surgery (pre-certified), and that thehospital will be paid. They receive insurance information from thesurgeons' offices such that they can contact the appropriate insuranceproviders.

Operating Room 11400 is the location where surgeons perform proceduresupon the patients. The operating room receives information in the formof patient charts filled with clinical information from admitting andpre-Admission Testing, and in certain instances the surgeons' offices(for last-minute information). Many clinical professionals attend to thepatients in the operating room, including:

-   1. Surgeons. Surgeons perform the actual surgery upon the patient.    They rely upon the patient's hospital chart, which includes their    own notes on the case.-   2. Anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists anesthetize the patient    before surgery. They rely upon the patient's hospital chart,    particularly the Pre-Anesthesia evaluation, in order to properly    perform their services.-   3. Residents/Fellows. Most surgeries have a surgical resident from    the appropriate department assisting. The resident is supposed to    review the patient's chart the night before surgery.-   4. Nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners minister to the patient    before surgery, and have access to the patient's hospital chart.    Nurse Practitioners are nurses with greater clinical credentials.-   5. Nurses. Nurses minister to the patient before surgery, and have    access to the patient's hospital chart.

Clinical research unit 11500 is set up to conduct researches by academicresearchers, drug companies, and the hospital itself to monitor theeffectiveness of various practices, drugs, and procedures. The Clinicalresearch unit also relies upon the patient chart and review of outcomes.

Utilization review unit 11520 consists of nurses at the hospital thatmonitor use of hospital resources post-surgery, primarily hospital beds.They rely upon the patient chart and evaluation of the patients, andwork closely with insurance companies to ensure of an appropriate levelof care and service for the particular patient.

Discharge planning unit 11600 works with utilization review nurses torelease patients from the hospital.

Patient financial services unit 11620 is involved with billing andcollecting patients for treatment They receive information 11038 frompre-certification clearance 11300. The information flow in a typicalhospital as discussed in reference with FIG. 29 has many problems. Forexample: (1) all information that is sent from surgeons' offices needsto be copied in case the documents were lost (office must retain copy);(2) it is difficult for surgeons' offices to confirm that hospital hasreceived any transferred information, even in the case of hand-delivery;(3) It is difficult for pre-admission testing or outside equivalent totransfer generated information to surgeons' offices; (4) it is difficultto locate patient chart, as it can be used by any of a number ofindividuals who may misplace or misfile the charts, such as residents,nurses, anesthesiologists. The charts may also be in a different part ofthe hospital (PAT or Operating Room); (5) it is difficult to makecertain that all necessary information is in the patient chart prior tosurgery. Frequently a last minute request is made to the surgeon'soffice for missing information. If a gap is found at the last secondbecause of missing information, operating room must remain idle untilinformation is located, resulting in costly delays; (6) if a patient isrescheduled, the physical patient chart is in an uncertain location (OR,PAT) and may easily be misplaced; (7) pre-certification clearance oftendoes not receive information from surgeons' offices prior to procedure,and therefore, it must call surgeons' offices to identify individualpatient's insurance coverage (the chart is in PAT, and pre-certificationclearance never receives a copy). Much time is wasted, and someprocedures are performed without pre-certification; (8) operating roomprofessionals, particularly residents, have difficulty accessing thepatient chart prior to the procedure, as it is in demand by others; (9)if information is secured (e.g. in surgeon's office), it is difficult toaccess it during non-office hours; (10) after procedure is performed,the physical hospital chart is transferred to medical records. It isdifficult and time-consuming to obtain the charts for clinical researchor patient financial services.

FIG. 30 illustrates the procedural information flow in conjunction withthe use of a fax storage and retrieval system 3000 in accordance withone embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, all information fromhospital-affiliated surgeons (11040) is faxed to system 3000.

All scheduling, clinical, and billing/insurance information isconsolidated on one form that is filled out by the surgeon's office. Theform is then faxed into the system, where it is available to all of theadministrative and clinical staff through a web-based interface, asdescribed in reference with FIGS. 21-28.

Information from pre-admission testing unit 11140 or outside equivalentis faxed to system 3000 also. The information received by the system isthen viewed by one or more individuals referred to as indexers. Eachindexer is responsible to assign a received fax page to thecorresponding patient file after reviewing the received fax. Allinformation may be received at one central number.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a recipient of a faxdocument may be notified in at least two ways. For example the intendedrecipient may provide its own fax number, which registers destinationupon arrival to the Inbox. If they have their own fax number, theygenerally index the information. In the alternative the indexeridentifies the recipient when information arrives in the system. Whenthe corresponding file is created, a notification flag to the recipientis sent. Recipient checks the system to see if any flagged informationhas arrived. Recipient then unflags the information.

System 3000 overcomes many problems set forth above in reference withFIG. 19. For example: (1) surgeons no longer need to copy all thedocuments. After they are faxed, their office retains the original; (2)Offices with access to system 3000 may confirm receipt and filing to thepatient folder; (3) pre-admission testing staff no longer need toidentify individual pieces of information to identify the surgeon or theintended recipient, such as their fax numbers. All information is sentto one number for indexing by an indexer; (4) the physical location ofhospital charts becomes largely irrelevant; (5) it is easier todetermine if all information is in the chart. Any information sent in atthe last-minute is added to the patient's file and quickly retrieved.(6) rescheduled patient information is easily located and replicated;(7) pre-certification clearance unit has immediate access to all patientchart information and insurance information, eliminating time-consuminggathering of information from surgeons' offices; (8) operating roomclinical professionals may access another copy of patient chart easilyfrom variety of locations; (9) operating room clinical professionals mayaccess a copy of patient chart during non-office hours via digitalaccess; (10) post-surgery, clinical research and patient financialservices may access copy of patient chart immediately and conveniently.

1. A fax storage and retrieval system comprising: a fax receiving moduleconfigured to receive a plurality of facsimile documents from aplurality of fax devices; a document attribute module configured toallow a user to associate each incoming fax document to a uniqueattribute set; a fax page splitter module configured to split images ofeach of said facsimile documents to individual image pages; and adocument storage and retrieval system coupled to said fax receivingmodule and configured to store each of said pages of said plurality offacsimile documents such that each of said pages is individuallyretrievable.
 2. The system in accordance with claim 1 further comprisinga fax routing module coupled to said fax receiving module, said faxrouting module configured to assign fax numbers for an entity intendingto receive said plurality of fax documents.
 3. The system in accordancewith claim 2 wherein said fax routing module is further configured toassign fax numbers to individual departments within said entity.
 4. Thesystem in accordance with claim 2, wherein said fax routing module isfurther configured to assign fax numbers to individual personnel withinsaid entity.
 5. The system in accordance with claim 2 further comprisinga fax routing data module coupled to said fax routing module configuredto store said assignment of fax numbers for each entity, along with apredetermined email address, so that faxes transmitted to a particularfax number are routed to a corresponding email address as specified insaid fax routing data module.
 6. The system in accordance with claim 5wherein said fax routing data module is further configured to storedepartment identification code field for each entity identifying thedepartments intended to receive said fax, along with memberidentification code field for each department identifying the membersintended to receive said fax.
 7. The system in accordance with claim 6further comprising a document presentation manager configured toretrieve received faxes in accordance with predetermined attributes. 8.A fax storage and retrieval system configured to receives facsimiledocuments for a plurality of independent entities, said systemcomprising: a fax receiving module configured to receive imagescorresponding to said facsimile documents; a page splitter unit coupledto said fax receiving module configured to organize said images of saidfacsimile documents such that images of each page in said facsimiledocuments are separately identifiable and retrievable; a documentstorage and retrieval system coupled to said fax receiving module andconfigured to store each of said pages of said plurality of facsimiledocuments such that each of said pages is individually retrievable; anda document attribute manager unit coupled to said document storage andretrieval system and configured to associate a unique set of attributesto each of said pages in each of said facsimile documents.
 9. The systemin accordance with claim 8 further comprising a categorization modulecoupled to said fax receiving module and configured to determine theidentity of each of said entities along with their department and memberidentification.
 10. The system in accordance with claim 9 wherein saididentification is based on destination address of each fax document. 11.The system in accordance with claim 10 wherein said categorizationmodule employs the sender's fax number to assign further categorizationparameters to the incoming fax.
 12. The system in accordance with claim11 wherein said categorization module generates a serial number used tovisually differentiate each received fax in a user interface based ondate and time of receipt.
 13. The system in accordance with claim 12wherein said categorization module generates a sequence number for eachindividual fax page, which is used to uniquely identify each fax page inthe system.
 14. The system in accordance with claim 8 further comprisinga document presentation manager configured to retrieve documents basedon destination fax number of a received fax.
 15. The system inaccordance with claim 14 wherein said document presentation mangerfurther comprises a document display module configured to display eachpage of a received fax document, such that each page is manageableindependently from other pages of the same fax document.
 16. The systemin accordance with claim 8 further comprising a fax routing modulecoupled to said fax receiving module, said fax routing module includes afax number procurement module configured to provide at least one uniquefax number for each of said entities.
 17. The system in accordance withclam 16, wherein said fax routing module further comprises a fax numberassociation module configured to associate a generated fax number with adepartment or an individual within said entity.
 18. A method forreceiving a plurality of fax documents from a plurality of remote faxmachines, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining an image ofeach received fax document; splitting image of each page of a receivedfax document into a separately identifiable image portion so that animage of each page in a fax document is separately and independentlyidentifiable; displaying to a user said images of each page of areceived fax document; providing an interface for said user so as toallow said user to assign a unique set of attributes to said faxdocument; allowing said user to search said fax documents in accordanceto at least one attribute within said unique set of attributes.
 19. Themethod in accordance with claim 18 further comprising the step ofreceiving a second fax document relating to a previously defined uniqueset of attributes; and providing an interface to allow a user to assignsaid previously defined set of attributes to said second fax document,such that images of pages of each of said fax documents are accessibleto said user.
 20. The method in accordance with claim 19 furthercomprising the step of providing an edit interface to allow a user toeither remove or delete anyone of said images of a page within areceived fax document.
 21. The method in accordance with claim 19further comprising the step of assigning a unique fax number for acorresponding entity, such that a plurality of entities can receive aplurality of fax documents; and providing an interface to each of saidentities such that each entity can have access to fax documents sent toits corresponding unique fax number.
 22. The method in accordance withclaim 21 further comprising the step of assigning a unique fax number toa corresponding department and a corresponding member within saiddepartment for each of said entities.
 23. The method in accordance withclam 22 further comprising the step of storing each of said received faxdocuments in a storage unit such that each image of each page of areceived fax document is independently retrievable.
 24. The method inaccordance with claim 23, further comprising the step of providing aninterface to allow a user to search for said images of each page ofreceived fax documents in accordance with an attribute within saidunique attribute set.
 25. A method for receiving a plurality of faxdocuments from a plurality of remote fax devices in a hospitalenvironment, said method comprising the steps of: receiving a pluralityof fax documents from a plurality of remote fax machines, and from apre-admission testing department within said hospital, each fax documentrelating to a corresponding patient scheduled for an in-hospitalprocedure; obtaining an image of each received fax document; splittingimage of each page of a received fax document into a separatelyidentifiable image portion so that an image of each page in a faxdocument is separately and independently identifiable; displaying to atleast one user said images of each page of a received fax document;providing an interface for said user so as to allow said user to assigna unique set of attributes to said fax document, said unique set ofattributes relating to a patient information; allowing said user tosearch said fax documents in accordance to at least one attribute withinsaid unique set of attributes.
 26. The method in accordance with claim25 further comprising the step of receiving additional fax documentrelating to a previously defined unique set of attributes; and providingan interface to allow said user to assign said previously defined set ofattributes to said second fax document, such that images of pages ofeach of said fax documents are accessible to said user.
 27. The methodin accordance with claim 26 further comprising the step of providing anedit interface to allow a user to either remove or delete anyone of saidimages of a page within a received fax document.
 28. The method inaccordance with claim further comprising the step of assigning a uniquefax number for a corresponding hospital, such that a plurality ofhospitals can receive a plurality of fax documents; and providing aninterface to each of said hospitals such that each entity can haveaccess to fax documents sent to its corresponding unique fax number. 29.The method in accordance with claim 28 further comprising the step ofassigning a unique fax number to a corresponding department and acorresponding member within said department for each of said hospitals.30. The method in accordance with clam 29 further comprising the step ofstoring each of said received fax documents in a storage unit such thateach image of each page of a received fax document is independentlyretrievable.
 31. The method in accordance with claim 30, furthercomprising the step of providing an interface to allow a user to searchfor said images of each page of received fax documents in accordancewith an attribute within said unique attribute set.